Steel for guitars and the like



May 16, 1933.

H. c. CARTER 1,909,456

STEEL FOR GUITARS AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 11, 1932 INVENTOR J/emy 0. cm;

MTTORNEY Patented May 16, 1933 l,il09,456

PATENT OFFICE HENRY C. CARTER, 0F DEARBORN, MICHIGAN STEEL FOR GUITARS AND THE LIKE Application filed February 11, 1932. Serial No. 592,342.

This invention relates to steels for lingering stringed instruments, and particularly guitars.

An object of the invention is to equip a fingering steel for guitars with an improved gripping means permittting the steel to be quickly shifted through its proper range of angular movement with respect to an engaged set of strings, by a thumb and finger manipulation, without fatiguing wrist movement.

Another object ,is to form the extremities of a fingering steel with depressions facilitating its firm gripping and manipulation.

A further object is to equip a finger-receiving ring for attachment to steel in alternative positions, according as the player is right or left handed.

Still another object is to slidably mount a 7 finger-receiving ring on an arm pivotally carried by a fingering steel, and to subject both said arm and ring to a spring urge, tending to establish a normal divergence of the arm to the steel, and a certain normal sliding position of the ring on the arm.

These and various other objects the invention attains by the construction hereinafter described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. l is a top plan view of the improved steel, showing in dash lines an alternative mounting for the socket-carrying arm.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken upon the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing one manner of gripping the steel.

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing a different manner of gripping the steel.

Fig. 6 is a section taken upon the line 66 of Fig. 1.

In these views, the reference character 1 designates a short cylindrical bar of metal, and preferably steel, having its ends formed with shallow circular depressions 2 coaxial with said bar, and facilitating its engagement and manipulation by the thumb and fingers.

The top face of said bar is preferably formed with a shallow transverse notch 3 extending with a gradual increase of depth from the mid portion of the bar, and terminating at a much more abrupt inclination adjacent to one of the bar extremities.

Tapped into the notched face of the bar at the deeper end of the notch is a screw 4, pivotally mounting upon the bar an arm 5, upwardly inclined at an acute angle to the axis of the bar, of preferably about thirty co degrees. Said arm is held against the bar by the head 6 of said screw, being formed with a collar 7 held against the bar by said head. A spring 8 coiled within the collar 7 subjects said arm to a rotative effort tending to establish it at an acute lateral divergence to the bar, as best appears in Fig. 1. The notched face of the bar is formed with a pair of small socket openings 9 diametrically opposed with respect to said screw for alternatively receiving an end of the spring 8, according as it is desired to urge the arm to the posit-ion illustrated in Fig. 1, or to an oppositely projecting position.

Slidable upon the arm 5 is a collar 10, carrying a split finger ring 11 formed preferably of resilient sheet metal, and preferably formed integrally with said collar. Inte 'rally formed upon the outer end of said arm is a sleeve 12, into which is tapped a screw 13 forming an abutment for the outer end of a coiled spring 14. The inner end of said spring bears against a lug 15 carried by (and preferably integral with) the inner end of the collar 10, whereby the latter, together with the finger ring 11, is urged toward the bar. Between the sleeve 12 and collar 7, the arm 5 is of inverted, semi-cylindrical form, the lug 15 preferably being circular and fitting into the channel formed 9 by said portion of the arm.

Preferably a spring 16 is coiled in the bottom part of the opening receiving the screw 13, subjecting said screw to an end thrust, resisting its accidental loosening.

In use of the described device, the forefinger of a musicians hand is inserted in the ring 11, the second phalanx of such finger preferably receiving said ring. The extremity of said finger rests ordinarily upon 100 the head of the screw 4, the collar being retracted slightly (in opposition to the spring 14) toward the free end of said arm. The thumb and second finger engage the respective ends of the steel, all as shown in Fig. 4.

An alternative manner of holding the steel is shown in Fig. 5, the end of the forefinger bearing upon the adjacent end of the steel, and the thumb lying in the notch 8, so as to swing the steel about the axis of the screw 4 to an angle reverse to that illustrated in Fig. 4.

The arm 5 is a spring-urged to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, since such is the normal position occupied by said arm in use of the steel, the spring 8, however, yielding readily to permit variance of the an lar relation between said arm and steel.

he collar 10 slides freely u and down on the arm 5 to permit the forenger of the player to rest either on the screw head 4 or to terminally engage the bar 1.

The construction is one that may be quite inex ensively manufactured, and that greatly acilitates the playin of a Hawaiian guitar as compared wit steels of prior types.

t is to be noted that the cylindrical and end faces of the bar 1 merge into each other with a gradual curvature, as indicated at 17. This ermits the bar to be held at an inclination to the plane of the guitar strings, with one of the rounded faces 17 bearing on an desired string.

l Vhile it is apparent that the illustrated embodiment of my invention is well calculated to adequately fulfill the objects and advantages primarily stated, it is to be understood that the invention is susceptible to variation, modification and change within the s irit and scope of the subjoined claims.

at I claim is:

1. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar, an arm pivoted at one end upon said bar to swing about an axis substantially transverse to said bar, and a finger ring slidably mounted upon said arm.

2. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar, an arm pivoted at one end upon said bar to swing about an axis substantially transverse to the bar, a finger ring slidable upon said bar, and means yleldably resisting sliding of said ring toward the free end of the arm.

3. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar, an arm pivoted at one end upon said bar to swing about an axis substantially transverse to the bar, a spring urging said arm toward a lateral divergence to the bar, and a finger ring slidable on said arm.

4. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar having depressions in its end faces for facilitating gripping of said bar by a thumb and finger, and a finger ring mounted upon the bar between its ends.

5. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar formed in each of its end faces with a depression facilitating a firm gripping of the bar by a thumb and finger of the player.

6. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprisin a substantiall cylindrical metal bar having its top face ormed intermediately of the bar extremities with a transverse notch for receiving the thumb of a hand gri ping the bar.

7. A steel or playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar, a finger ring for holding said bar, and an arm carrying said finger ring attachable to the bar at selective divergences to either side of the bar, according as the steel is to be held by the right or left hand.

8. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar, an arm attached at one extremity to said bar and upwardly divergent to the bar at an acute angle, and a finger ring longitudinally slidable upon said arm.

9. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a metal bar having a top face thereof formed between its ends with a transverse notch increasing gradually in depth from one of its extremities and abruptly at the other, and gripping means for said bar attached to the notched face of the bar adjacent to its abruptly deepened end, and pro ecting laterally from the bar.

10. A steel for playing strin ed musical instruments comprising a cylindrical metal bar having the ends of its cylindrical face rounded to merge gradually into the end faces of said bar to facilitate applying the steel to a single string.

11. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprising a bar, an arm pivoted upon the bar, a finger ring slidable on said arm, and means yieldably holding said ring definitely positioned on the arm.

12. A steel for playing stringed musical instruments comprlsing an elongated metal bar, a headed member inserted in said bar transversely to its length, an arm pivoted at one extremity upon said headed member beneath the head thereof, and a spring carried by said headed member and covered by said arm, urging said arm divergently to said bar.

13. A steel for playing strin ed musical instruments comprising a cylin rical metal bar, formed in each of its end faces with a circular socket, substantially coaxial with the bar, facilitating a firm gripping of the bar between a thumb and finger of a player.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification.

HENRY C. CARTER. 

